Hurricane Katrina, habeas corpus, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, the Iraq War, the Wall Street fall and the collapse of the real estate market, domestic wiretapping, torture, al-Qaida resurgent in Afghanistan and Pakistan, global warming and the Kyoto Protocol, loss of respect for America worldwide, a widening gap between the rich and the poor - what does the past eight years mean to you? How does it make you feel?
These are the questions I asked myself when joining the College Democrats and the campaign to elect Sen. Barack Obama. We have had a rough eight years, but most of it was avoidable - from better disaster response after Katrina to respecting basic human rights in Iraq and Afghanistan. The economy's problems suffer from years of conservative philosophy that prevented government from putting commonsense rules on wealthy businessmen. Years ago, President Reagan argued that wealth would eventually "trickle down" from the wealthiest Americans to the rest of us. Unfortunately, the only thing trickling down these days is the rubble of our collapsed institutions.
Obama, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich point to a different future than the one that President Bush and John McCain have offered. And it brings solid and realistic policies to the table. Health care has consistently been one of the heaviest burdens the middle class has carried, and exceeding costs are now crushing us.
If we can send troops to the farthest corners of the world to defend our lives, why then do we let a child suffer with leukemia for the crime of being born with the 95 percent of Americans who make less than $200,000 a year? If we can pay to defend ourselves abroad, then we can pay to heal ourselves at home. We send $2 billion each week to Iraq. If you could get last week's $2 billion back, what would you do to help your neighbors?
Abroad, Obama offers a more realistic approach to diplomacy. He recognizes that we have to have active dialogue with everyone, and that includes nations like Iran and North Korea. McCain offers only more of the same silent treatment with America's enemies. Stubbornly ignoring people you don't like didn't work in kindergarten and doesn't work as foreign policy, as our soldiers abroad have painfully learned.
This issue resonates personally for me. I was caught in the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel working in the northern half of the country and slept only in the short spaces between bomb blasts nearby. The consequences of such stubborn policies are more wars and more deaths. Working with both Palestinians and Israelis during the conflict, I learned firsthand how an open dialogue could resolve conflicts without sacrificing values. Lives depend upon diplomacy. Obama understands this too and will return America's standing in the world to where it should be. In many ways, he already has. In July, he spoke to thousands of enthusiastic Europeans. When was the last time you saw them wave American flags proudly?
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Hope. Obama began his career organizing poor neighborhoods and bringing old enemies together to solve problems where consensus could be reached. He was criticized loudly at the Republican National Convention for being a community organizer - those laughs have fallen silent in the wake of millions of Obama volunteers sweeping across America this week, replacing Karl Rove's 72-hour strategy with the Obama 72-week strategy. If running the most expansive, inclusive and fiscally
solid national campaign doesn't reinforce his executive experience, his grasp on Americans' problems will. While McCain complains about genetic studies and planetariums, Obama has tackled the economy, Iraq and health care head on. While McCain has held on to Bush's policies, Obama has distinguished himself by promoting not just an alternative set of policies but an alternate view of America. His words from his now famous keynote address at the 2004 Democratic conventions say it all:
"It is that fundamental belief. It is that fundamental belief - I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper - that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family. E pluribus unum: Out of many, one. Now, even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us: the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of 'anything goes.' Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America."
By the time you read this, it will be Election Day, and our country will be shaped for years to come. Will we all follow step as the Bush policies continue, or will we see a fundamental change in direction? I will cast my vote for change, for peace and for an economy that works for all Americans. And on Wednesday, when we all wake up, we will be a stronger, more united nation in the face of our challenges.
B. Lee Drake is the national council vice chair for College Democrats of America and president of the UNM chapter of College Democrats.
